The Lovereading4Kids comment

Think Downton Abbey meets Gossip Girl, as the upstairs-downstairs world of a glamourous country house collides with scandal and intrigue.

Synopsis

At Somerton: Secrets & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed

One house, two worlds, dark secrets...The year is 1910. For the past decade, the Averley family has lived a life of luxury in India, but now they must return to Lord Averley's ancestral estate, the sprawling, majestically beautiful Somerton Court. As the household staff hastily prepare for the family's arrival, they receive shocking news: Lord Averley is bringing back a fiancee with three children of her own, and on top of that, there are rumours of a terrible scandal surrounding Lord Averley's resignation as Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. As the family settles in, tensions arise both upstairs and downstairs. Lady Ada must choose between her honour and her heart, Sebastian must fend off ruinous threats from a former servant (and lover...) and gentle housemaid Rose will find herself at the centre of a scandal so enormous it could destroy the Averleys' reputation forever. With plenty of scheming, scandal and sauciness, SECRETS & SAPPHIRES is a thrilling period-drama perfect for fans of Jilly Cooper and DOWNTON ABBEY.

About the Author

Lila Rasheed: "I am half Bangladeshi and half English, was brought up in Libya and have lived in Belgium, Italy and Malaysia. I’ve always written prose, but began writing poetry relatively recently, following encouragement from David Morley and the teachers on the MA in Writing at Warwick. A number of my poems refer to ancient myth, which I see as a ‘neutral space’ because of its remoteness and universality, where questions of nationality, culture and parochial allegiance can be sidestepped in favour of ideas I find more meaningful. A selection of my poems is available in the Heaventree New Poets series. Other things I can do include: make tiramisu, order four bread rolls in Danish, and open a beer bottle with my teeth."

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Hot Key Books is an imprint of Hot Key

Hot Key Books, a division of Bonnier Publishing, publish stand out, quality fiction, for 9 – 19 year olds, print and digital that people like to talk about. If you are looking for something a little bit different from your books, something a little bit special then Hot Key Books may well have just what you want.